Posts on Jan 1970

On June 9th 2015,16th Symposium on rare diseases was held at the Institute of Catalan Studies, in which the results of 20 research projects funded by TV3 Marathon Foundation in its edition of 2009 were presented.

At the end of the ceremony, Dr. Gabriel Capellà, coordinator of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Foundation, mentioned five outstanding results from all developed projects. Among them, he spoke about the nanoconjugate developed by the NANOFABRY project through the collaboration of the CIBER-BBN groups headed by Dr. Simó Schwartz (VHIR), Prof Jaume Veciana and Dr. Nora Ventosa (Nanomol, CSIC), Dr. Miriam Royo (PCB-UB), and Dr. Pepe Corchero (IBB-UAB) for the treatment of the Fabry’srare disease.

This nanoconjugateis based on unilamellar lipid vesicles, or nanoliposomes, carrying the alpha-galactosidase enzyme as part of an enzyme replacement therapy for the Fabry’s disease. Dr.Capellà highlighted the submission and license of a patent protecting this nanoconjugate, recently licensed to the company Biopraxis Research,together with efforts done by the researchers to bring it to a regulatory pre-clinical stage, and the additional funding achieved by means of two new competitive projects, Lipocell and Terarmet, achieved by the same consortium.

The new map of Scientific and Technological Infrastructures (ICTS), was updated by the Council for Science Policy, Technology and Innovation last 7th of October, 2014, which incorporated The Integrated Infrastructure on Production and Characterization of Nanomaterials, Biomaterials and Systems in Biomedicine (NANBIOSIS) . The new ICTS is integrated by the CIBER-BBN and the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery Jesus Uson (JUMISC).

Pablo Laguna, scientific director of the CIBER-BBN noted that “this recognition is the result of efforts of both institutions to try to provide research services of high quality and added value, usually high-cost equipment, which is available to the scientific community, giving them greater and better use and avoiding costly and not always necessary redundancies. Furthermore, the fact that these infrastructures are coordinated by experts in their subjects, makes the scope of these infrastructures to exceed the national territory to become an actor at international level “.

The research infrastructure is aimed at medical applications and tries to provide a complete service and easy access through a “single contact point”, which includes the design, production of biomaterials and nanomaterials characterization of these materials, tissues , medical and systems from a physical, chemical, functional, toxicological and biological point of view including preclinical validation.

NANBIOSIS’ Units are located in Zaragoza, Badajoz, Barcelona, ​​Caceres, Madrid, Valencia and Álava. Provides personnel and cross-cutting equipment in all the units in which infrastructure is organized, with dedication to service to the entire scientific community.

The new Spanish map of ICTS has 29 infrastructures and has been updated taking into account criteria of highest scientific quality, technology and innovation, subjecting candidates to a rigorous process of independent evaluation.n (check ICTS map)

The so-called singular scientific and technical infrastructures (ICTS) are large installations, resources, facilities and services, unique in its kind, that are dedicated to cutting edge and high quality research and technological development, as well as to promote exchange, transmission and preservation of knowledge, technology transfer and innovation. Its main objective is provision to national and international scientific, technological and industrial community of essential scientific and technical infrastructure for the development of a scientific and technological research unique or exceptional in its genre, with a very high cost of investment and maintenance and whose importance and strategic nature justifies their availability for the whole R + D + i collective. Therefore, the ICTS are infrastructures of PUBLIC ownership, are UNIQUE and OPEN to competitive access to users of the whole research community in the public and private sector..

Dr. Ramon Martinez Máñez, CIBER-BBN researcher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, has been appointed Scientific Director of the CIBER-BBN in the CIBER Standing Committee of the Institute of Health Carlos III. Martinez-Máñez relieves Dr. Pablo Laguna, who occupied this position since February 2011.

Ramon Martinez Máñez is Principal Investigator of CIBER-BBN in the Group of Applied Molecular Chemistry Center of Molecular Recognition and Technological Development of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV-ADM-IQMA).

“Some of the challenges and objectives in this new stage will be the promotion of competitiveness and quality of research, promote collaboration between groups both in the CIBER-BBN as other CIBER groups and promoting translational research, especially for clinical applications, “said Ramon Martinez Máñez.

The CIBER-BBN consists of 46 research groups, selected on the basis of scientific excellence, working mainly in three scientific programs: bioengineering and medical imaging; biomaterials and advanced therapies; and nanomedicine.

Martinez Máñez coordinator of BIOGATES, Intramural CIBER-BBN project, investigating new nanoparticles for diagnostics and drug delivery. The research group lines also fall within the Scientific Nanomedicine CIBER-BBN Program. This research group works with other CIBER-BBN groups in the development of nanoscale devices “molecular gates” for controlled drug release. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles with which they work are able to hold a charge in its pore system and deliver it when they applied a chemical, physical or biochemical stimulus. Other applications of these nanoparticles has been the selective delivery of cytotoxic for cancer cells, removal of bacteria or the release of certain drugs in senescent cells. Another of his lines of work is the development of probes for the detection of molecules of biological interest.

The Jesús Usón Minimally Invasive Surgery Centre (JUMISC) works in a R&D project, that aims to find a biomaterial that will help injured cartilage to repair.

The targets of the project are to design a biomaterial that could be implanted in the human body and to apply it in the osteoarticular pathology treatment. The main goal is that people who suffer from osteoarthritis, a pathology that damages the cartilage joint, get better through a minimally invasive surgery procedure.

The consecutive phases of the project will be the development of the biomaterial, tests in vitro and the preclinical trials, as testing in pig animal model.

After finishing these phases, vet professionals will monitore them, through imaging and surgery techniques, using MRI scan and arthroscopy, to study the evolution of the injuries.

At the end of the R&D project, those injured joints where the biomaterial was implanted, will be analyzed through microscopy techniques, and vet professionals will determine if the cartilage has improved.

JUMISC and the partners of the project (enterprises, hospitals and others) are focused on testing that the treatment is safe and effective, and from this premise we will be ready to start clinical trials in hospitals, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the biomaterial in patients.